The Kansas City Chiefs’ 32-29 victory over the Buffalo Bills in Sunday’s AFC Championship game delivered a record-setting audience.
Kansas City’s win that put them a win away from a third straight Super Bowl title averaged 57.4 million viewers for CBS, according to the Sports Business Journal’s Austin Karp. The number tops the previous AFC title game record of 55.5 million set during last year’s game between the Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens.
The game, which began at 6:30 p.m. ET, was the seventh straight appearance for the Chiefs in the AFC Championship game and the second time since 2020 that it featured the Chiefs and Bills.
That 57.4 million number is the best for any NFC or AFC title game since 2012 when the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers drew 57.6 million viewers.
The game maintained an audience by being close — the teams were within a touchdown after each quarter — and despite more officiating controversy, viewers stayed glued to their televisions awaiting to see who would go on to play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX on Feb. 9.
Karp also noted that the Eagles’ 55-23 victory over the Washington Commanders in the NFC title game delivered 44.2 million viewers. The game kicked off at 3 p.m. ET from Lincoln Financial Field and brought in the least-watched audience for that game since 2019 (44.1 million) when the Los Angeles Rams beat the New Orleans Saints.
